Three killed in fiery crash on East Shelby Drive in southeast Shelby County

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Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

A staffer with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office took this photo of the aftermath of a fatal crash that took place on East Shelby Drive on the evening of January 5, 2018.(Photo: Earle Farrell / Shelby County Sheriff's Office)

A fiery motor vehicle crash near the intersection of East Shelby Drive and Riverdale in southeast Shelby County on Friday evening killed three people, said Earle Farrell, spokesman for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.

Four more people were transported to Regional One Hospital in critical condition, he said.

The dead were a woman and two adolescents, Farrell said. They were burned beyond recognition and will have to be identified through dental records, he said.

“It’s awful," he said. "It’s one of the worst I’ve ever seen.”

He said the three dead were in an eastbound SUV. That SUV crossed the median, hit a car, then hit another car. Those last two vehicles both caught fire, he said.

A sheriff's deputy arriving at the scene helped rescue a male victim, Farrell said. Farrell said he believes that person was taken to the hospital.

Farrell had initially said two people were taken to the hospital, but later updated that number to four.

The Sheriff's department will investigate, he said.

V. Robertson with Memphis Fire Department dispatch gave the location of the crash as the intersection of East Shelby Drive and Richmond Hills. That's about halfway between Shelby Drive's intersections with Riverdale Road and Hacks Cross Road.